1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to edible snack chips, such as those made from potato slices or from a sheet of corn-based material and, more particularly, to a chip that is formed in such a manner to give it rigidity and allow it to pick up thick flavoring dips without breaking.
2. Background Art
The snack chip industry is highly competitive, with there currently being a multitude of different chip flavors and shapes available. One of the most popular snacks remains the potato chip that is produced most commonly by deep frying thin slices of potato. The potato can be either flat cut or ribbed, with the latter being necessarily thicker and more rigid after cooking.
For the most part, the flat cut and ribbed potato slices develop a wavy shape or curl slightly at the edges after cooking. The end shape is determined by a number of factors, including the moisture content of the uncooked slice, the composition thereof, imperfections therein, etc.
To enhance the taste of the snack chips, various dips are available on the market. These dips range from those with a very thick consistency, such as those that are sour cream based, to those with the consistency of water, such as salsas.
In many cases, the chips turn out to be incompatible with the dips intended therefor. For example, flat sliced potato chips, on which the thickest of dips are used, typically are the thinnest. The thin potato slice can be flash cooked, while retaining little of the cooking oil, and is therefore light and crispy, which is preferred by most consumers.
However, the thin, crispy chip is brittle and thus does not lend itself to the picking up of thick dips. If one attempts to scoop dip from a bowl, the chip tends to snap off. The result is that many small pieces of chip remain in the dip, which makes it less appetizing.
Alternatively, one can align the plane of the chip vertically and press it into the dip. The withdrawn chip generally has only a thin layer of dip adhered thereto, which in many cases does not satisfy the consumer.
While the thicker chip overcomes some of the above problems, it takes longer to cook, is heavier, retains more cooking oil, and resultingly does not have the same crisp texture as the thinner chips.
Those chips, such as corn-based chips, that are intended to be thicker, are generally used with thinner dips, such as salsa, with which the above problems are not contended. Generally the thicker chips are unsuitable for picking up thinner dips.
For example, salsas usually have a water base with chunks of seasoned vegetable therein. If one uses a flat chip to pick up this type of dip, the liquid base material runs freely off of the chip, so that the consumer is normally left with nothing more than the suspended solids on the chip. Often, a consumer performs a balancing act to keep as much of the liquid as possible on the chip. The consumer in aiding this endeavor, commonly seeks out a chip with a depression that acts as a receptacle for the dip.
The liquid that drips off of the chips commonly is spilled on clothing and furniture and, aside from the inconvenient mess it causes, may permanently stain fabrics.
Other types of chips are also available on the market. For example, some chips are formed to define a closed, hollow shell, that may be round or cylindrical. While interesting hollow shapes can be formed, the dip does not migrate to within the hollow. Consequently, the hollow shape is more advantageous from an aesthetic, rather than a functional, standpoint.
Other efforts are frequently focused on making interesting precooked shapes, such as circular, triangular, square, rectangular, etc. This generally does little in varying the functional aspects of the chips.